Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Learning Objectives
What is Democracy?
1. Class view
Government dominated by capitalists
3. Bureaucratic view
Government dominated by appointed
officials
4. Pluralist view
Belief that competition among all affected
interests shapes public policy
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Who governs?
1. How is political power actually distributed
in America?
2. What explains major political change?
To what ends?
1. What value or values matter most in
American democracy?
2. Are trade-offs among political purposes
inevitable?
Who Governsand to
What Ends?
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Americans felt
powerfully connected
to their fellow citizens
in the immediate
aftermath of 9/11.
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Media
Action by the States
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Majoritarian politics
Distributed benefits, distributed costs
Free-rider problem
Example: Social Security
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Client politics
Concentrated benefits, distributed costs
Pork-barrel legislations and log-rolling
Example: farm subsidies
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Entrepreneurial Politics
Distributed benefits, concentrated costs
Policy entrepreneurs
Ralph Nader
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Policy dynamics
Issue can remain stable, change a little or
a lot, change slowly or quickly
No typical path
Most major social legislation reflects
majoritarian politics
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Understanding Politics
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